


Heart of the Crags - Rosie

by sleepy_underscore_gary



Category: Acquisitions Inc., Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), The "C" Team
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-11
Updated: 2019-05-11
Packaged: 2020-03-01 05:08:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18793621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepy_underscore_gary/pseuds/sleepy_underscore_gary
Summary: This story is an homage to the classic Disney comic "Back to the Klondike" (like Carl Barks drew it), and Don Rosa's Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck. Taking a lot of elements from that story, Rosie returns to a place from her past where she meets an old lover who has also changed with the years. This might all be impossible if we get conflicting Beestinger lore, but I like the idea that over the years Rosie has Forrest Gumped her way into lots of famous historical events.Completely safe for work, no naughty bits. I swear I start out writing a grounded story, but it always turns trippy just because this is Jerry's world.





	Heart of the Crags - Rosie

Rosie looked at the tumbled-down cabin and was swept away as the smell of the place fired the force of memory. Dried grass, the cold brook, wild flowers in the spring, it all took her back. She felt a whoosh under her navel like taking off in their flying not-a-horse ship, and for a brief moment it was as if she woke from the dream where she was already old and too tired.  
_She remembered strong arms and a rough beard, soft linen and tears, love and heartache. And there in the middle a black emptiness._  
“Rosie,” Walnut was saying. “Rosie?” she repeated.  
“Sorry, dear,” Rosie said, feet back on earth and old again in the present.  
“Is this it?” said Walnut gently. Rosie nodded.  
They were in The Crags, cold, hard mountains far to the north of Red Larch. Following a treacherous trail that Rosie had told Walnut few knew of, they had entered a sheltered valley ringed by grey peaks in every direction. A clear rocky creek ran through the center, and it spread as it neared the paled and cracked boards of the cabin. Once, the surrounding hills had been filled with prospectors, staking a claim to cash in on the rumored caches of gold and mithril. Now as certainly as if a nemezir had been there, nature had taken back the landscape.  
Rosie looked down at the map she carried, staring between the mark on the parchment and the real-life scene.  
“Do you think it will still be there?” asked Walnut.  
“Hard to say,” sighed Rosie. “I hid it a long time ago. Who knows how many people have been through here since then? And I still don’t know if I can go back…”  
Walnut laid a hand on the halfling’s shoulder and gave her an intense look. “Don’t worry, grandmother,” she said. “We’ll find it. There’s no other way for the orphanage to get the money.”  
They approached the structure warily, neither’s feet making a sound on the gravel. Walnut carefully pushed back the door. It moved easily but creaked on rusted hinges.  
There was a light puff and time slowed for Rosie. The sun shone through the cracked boards, dust floated suspended in its rays, and a tiny dart flew straight toward the back of Walnut’s neck. Rosie’s eyes tracked not the dart itself but its shadow, lazily sliding over the grass, and she reached out and delicately plucked the dart from the air. Time returned to normal as Walnut yelped.  
“In the trees!” yelled Rosie and leaped into the grove from where the dart had come. Reacting a few seconds later, Walnut transformed into a bear and lumbered after her. Rosie appeared behind two forms hidden by the shifting sylvan light. She executed a quick jab into the larger form’s lower back, and the enemy fell frozen, stunned by the blow. Rosie exhaled as she entered a defensive stance and looked at the two figures. Behind her, Honeynut crashed through the trees.  
The one she had hit was a young man with brown hair and a grimace on his baby face. He wore a mottled green cloak and held a wooden blow gun. His companion was odder. What looked like mechanical spider legs supported a jar-like flask ribbed with iron supports. The flask was filled with a yellow fluid, and suspended in it floated a brain. Hoo boy, thought Rosie, preparing for a fight, but the monstrosity remained still.  
Honeynut growled at the young man. He began to rise, but the mechanical spider held a grey arm in front of him. It clicked a tight staccato rhythm with one metal claw, and the young man looked over at the brain as if he understood. As the spider finished clicking, one leg skittered out and drew the rough shape of a flower in the dirt.  
“Hurr?” said Honeynut quizzically, but Rosie gasped. Then her face fell.  
Rosie bent down and drew the shape of a bird in flight, little more than a simple _M_ , beside the flower. She stood up sadly. “But how?” she said.  
The spider chirped and hit the baby-faced man. “Beestinger?” he replied. “The…?” He got a sharp click in reply.  
Walnut morphed back into her humanoid form with an annoyed look on her face. “Okay, what’s going on? I just wasted a wild shape on that.”  
“Let’s get a roof over our heads,” said the young man, and beckoned them as the spider skittered away toward the cabin.  
Rosie took a deep breath as she approached again. She laid a hand on the rough wooden door frame, feeling each crease like a wrinkle on a face, and saw the faded outline of a heart carved in the post, still visible after all these years. Within it was carved a little rose and a little M-like bird.

..............

 _It wasn’t supposed to happen. Maybe when you spend that much time with someone it’s unavoidable. Rosie felt she should have been made of sterner stuff, not one to give in to “feelings.” Still, she tended the memory of that time like the last bright embers of a dying flame._  
_Of course, he had been handsome. She had noticed him standing out from the other miners plodding into the growing frontier town of Dawes. He carried himself with self-assurance but also a hunger, as if his past gave him something to prove. Not an easy mark, but irresistible if only for the challenge._  
_And she had been beautiful. Not the wine-aged beauty of her silver years, but that pop fizz lusty juice of youth packed into a petite package that refused to be ignored._  
_She remembered him dumping a small pouch of powdery silver metal on the scratched saloon table between them and saying, “This is what it’s all about. You wouldn’t be out here if you weren’t ambitious, and if you really want to be rich, you don’t waste time on gold like these hacks. You settle for nothing less than mithril. It’s worth ten times its weight in gold.”_  
_“And you’re the metals investment expert,” she said, smiling wryly._  
_She was ambitious, but she knew that Power was worth more than gold or mithril could ever buy. She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. Where sheep gather, the wolves will follow, and she was prepared to take whatever she could from these fools who had rushed out into the wilderness searching for riches. It was easy; who would expect the innocent as apple pie young halfling girl. So much the better if she could lay low for a bit._  
_“I’m serious. I’ve been trying to make my fortune prospecting for years,” he said. “We could do it. I may not know you well, but I don’t know anyone here.” He whispered, “I have a good claim, but I’m trying to keep it quiet, hidden. It just takes hard work. With your help, we could strike it rich.”_  
_She had almost believed it could happen, the way he stared at her with earnest brown eyes. Yet something tugged at her, telling her she could do more, be more, and she looked away._  
_“Bartender,” she called. “Another drink for my friend and me.”_

..............

“The shaking palsy,” the young man, whose name was Dlanod, was in the middle of explaining.  
In the present, they sat on logs around a rusted stove in the cabin, a small fire providing warmth. “Moving my uncle’s mind into a construct was the only way to stop the inevitable. It’s terrible how quickly the disease progressed….” He looked over at the machine. “We’d like to find a more suitable body type, but this was all we could afford to start with between the parts and arcane surgery.”  
Walnut nodded empathetically. “So, he hasn’t always been like this?” she asked. “What was he like back when you knew him, Rosie?”  
Rosie didn’t reply immediately but remained looking into the fire. “We were partners,” she said.

..............

 _“How dare you!” he was saying. “After I trusted you!”_  
_In the past, young Rosie was sitting on the rickety inn bed with her face in her hands. “It’s just who I am…” she said._  
_The pocket watch she had been trying to sneak out with in the early morning hours lay between them. On its brass cover in intricate etching was a crest bearing a duck in flight._  
_“Do you know what this is?” he yelled. “It’s been in my family for generations. It’s the last magical item we have, the last sign of the power the Macduffs used to wield.”_  
_“Ebenezer,” Rosie pleaded. She had known it must be valuable but hadn’t known just how valuable._  
_“I…” he said, sighing. “…was an idiot. Of course you would scam the young greenhorn. What a target.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut. “I… But, look, I forgive you.”_  
_She looked up. “With some conditions,” he said firmly. “My offer still stands. Come work with me, just for the season. You said this is who you are, but it doesn’t have to be.” He sat on the bed beside her and picked up her hands. “It’s not as easy as scamming stupid prospectors, but we really could strike it rich. Only if we work together.”_  
_She stared into his eyes and the moment stretched, becoming the place her mind would wander idly when she thought of this period. The creaking of carts outside and clinking of glasses downstairs seemed to stop, and neither she nor he let out a breath._  
_She said nothing but hugged him tightly._

..............

In the present, Walnut was looking between Rosie and the construct questioningly. Rosie realized she had been quiet for a long time. “Walnut, honey,” she said gently. “There’s still a lot you don’t know about me. I’ve lived a lot of different lives.”  
“I know you had been out here for The Rush, but you never mentioned a… business...partner…” Or more… was the unspoken follow up.  
Rosie was too old to beat around the bush. “Yes, we lived together in this old cabin. We built it together.” She looked around, each nail and board holding a memory. “Before we found the goose egg nugget.”  
The spider clicked angrily. “And you stole it from him,” Dlanold interpreted.

..............

 _It wasn’t supposed to happen._  
_A brief season with a roof and then she could escape, maybe even take something extra for her trouble. Maybe it’s bound to happen when two young people spend that much time together. She had never thought she was one for strong feelings, but this time they caught her off guard. Maybe it was because she was different when she was with him, a person she could respect, and not the broken girl she thought she was._  
_“Darling!” he had yelled. They were digging and sifting together a way up the creek from the cabin, both up to their forearms in dirt and grit._  
_“Did you find a good bit?” she asked, walking over._  
_He bent down to wash off a large rock in the water, and when he stood up, she saw it was chunk of mithril ore, almost the size of a goose egg, the largest either of them had ever seen or imagined. Both remained open mouthed for a second._  
_“Woohoo!” he yelled in excitement. She yelled too and jumped into his arms. They twirled around in the crisp spring air thinking all their problems had been solved._

..............

“I only stole it to stop you from keeping everything!” she was saying angrily in the present. “You just wanted the nugget and the claim for yourself!”  
Ebenezer clicked back in response. “He says he didn’t,” said Dlanod.  
“Hold on, hold on,” said Walnut, pulling out a sheet of parchment with the letters of the alphabet proudly written on it. “Let him speak for himself, like this,” and she began to point at individual letters, spelling out " _you_ " and gesturing to Ebenezer. He began to point at letters as Walnut copied them down in order. “This would be so much easier with awaken mind,” she said.  
_I didn’t. You left before we could talk. You took nugget and watch_ , said the message she had copied, and Ebenezer followed up with a series of sharp clicks.  
Rosie looked down at the wooden floor. “I only hid it,” she said quietly. “I thought I could take it and leave the rest of the claim for you, but in the end, I couldn’t keep the nugget for myself. I cared too much…” she trailed off.

..............

 _She remembered going into town to pay off her interest, her heart light with the knowledge that soon the debt would gone forever._  
_“Ah, Rosie,” said the loan dealer with slick black hair parted neatly in the middle. “You’re Macduff’s girl now, right?” he said, chuckling._  
_“I’m nobody’s,” she snapped. “And soon I’ll be done with you.”_  
_“Heh, heh, a word to the wise,” he said, leaning in conspiratorially. “They say the man has gold fever; all he cares about is striking it rich. Just like you,” he laughed. “Does he know who you are?”_  
_She blanched. “People change,” she said quietly. She wasn’t sure if she believed that even as she said it._  
_“He was just in here a few days ago, registering a claim and setting up a new account,” the dealer said. “I only saw one name on the paperwork, his name. Just something to think about…” He grinned. “Thank you for your payment. Oh, and he picked up a letter addressed to you.” He laughed at her surprised look, “But of course he would have told you, being the upstanding honest young man you know.”_  
_She walked out without a word, her face a hard mask of anger covering her hurt._

..............

Dlanod looked stunned. “But we’ve worked this claim for years, protecting the area and hoping to find the source. How could we not have found the nugget?” he said.  
The spider pointed at letters; _Rosie_ , it said, and gestured questioningly.  
“I… didn’t just hide it in space. I hid it in time,” she said, still looking down. She reached into her pouch and a pocket watch etched with a duck in flight materialized in her hand.  
Ebenezer clicked, not angrily, but softly. _You kept it_ , he wrote.  
“I knew I should sell it. I discovered what the watch does. I hated it every time I saw it; it reminded me too much of you,” Rosie said. “And what I had hidden. Now though, well, I’ve tried, and I can’t go back; I hid it in a time my mind doesn’t want to remember.”

..............

 _It was a muddy, drizzling day in the past. He was tending the fire when she opened the door to their small cabin and walked in, cloak dripping._  
_“Where’s the letter?” she demanded. “Why would you do this?”_  
_“I’m so sorry,” he said. “I just didn’t want…” He looked sad, and he began to pull a paper out of his pocket, but the scene went black._

And she was on the road with tears in her eyes, not sure where she was and clutching the pocket watch. She turned and continued walking in the direction she had been heading.

..............

In the present, the spider thing - no, it was Ebenezer, walked slowly over to Rosie. He picked up her hands, and she could imagine his earnest brown eyes the way they had been.  
“Maybe,” Rosie said. “You can help.” She shuddered, not wanting to face those memories, those feelings. “Maybe we can still strike it rich. Only if we work together,” she said and squeezed the mechanical claw.  
She wound the pocket watch, and both her and Ebenezer fell limp as if their minds had gone somewhere else, reminding Walnut unpleasantly of K’thriss in flight.  
"What happened?” said Dlanod.  
_Men_ , thought Walnut, rolling her eyes.

..............

 _“I’m so sorry,” Ebenezer said in the past. “I just didn’t want…”_  
_Darkness creeped at the edges of Rosie’s vision, but she felt a warm hand supporting her own._ I have to keep going _, she thought and gritted her teeth._  
_“I didn’t… I could never find the right time…” he said._  
_She looked down at the parchment he handed her. Blackness swirled inward, but she pushed it back. On the page she read,_ Miss Beestinger, We regret to inform you-  
_Darkness._  
To inform you that-  
_Black. She gripped his hand tightly._  
That your mother passed away three days-  
_And Rosie’s vision clouded with tears. She remained though, feeling his warmth and strength supporting her as they both sobbed together. She felt a dizzying swirl of anger and loss, in that moment hating and mistrusting and loving and needing him._  
_It was another second that stretched into eternity. The wind outside had stopped blowing, the leaves were still, and even the bees’ wings stayed motionless in the air. In life, they had remained holding one another, never knowing how long had passed._  
_Now, Rosie wiped her tears, and reached behind her for the goose egg nugget. There it was, sitting on the rough floor of their cabin, shining brilliantly, stashed safely in this instant. She held it between them, and they continued holding one another for decades._

..............

In the present, Rosie’s eyes opened, and she felt a weight in her lap. She was wrapped around Ebenezer, who was now a brain spider construct again. Between them was a large silver rock.  
Rosie felt segmented legs squeeze her carefully. It was difficult not to recoil at first, but she thought of him as he had been and eased into holding him again.  
She let go, wiped her eyes, and handed the chunk and the watch to Dlanod.  
“They’re both rightfully yours. Keep it,” said Rosie. Even saying it, the weight of the rock seemed as if it wanted to remain in her hand. “I'm so sorry; if I had known he was like this…” she said.  
Walnut interjected, “But the orphans; we came all this way!”  
Rosie patted Walnut’s hand. “We’ll find a way, dear. I’m a resourceful girl,” she said and smiled.  
_Thank you_ , wrote Ebenezer. He picked up a piece of charcoal and drew a heart on the floor. She responded by drawing the shape of a flower and bird within it.


End file.
